Become a Member

When you join The Summit, you become more than a member. You’re one of our owners, and everything we do is to serve you better. Read below to find out more about our credit union philosophy and the benefits of joining The Summit.

The Summit is a credit union, not a bank.

Both credit unions and banks offer financial products and services. But a credit union is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its members (like you). Banks are for-profit corporations owned by investors and stakeholders, where you’re merely a customer.

Banks make money for shareholders.

At a bank, all your transactions are structured so that the bank makes money. That profit goes to shareholders as a dividend or increased share price.

Credit unions make money for you.

Credit unions, on the other hand, operate to serve members, each of whom owns a piece of the cooperative. For example, at The Summit, loan interest gets returned to our members as better rates, fewer fees and enhanced technology, and helps us stay healthy for the benefit of all members.

Our focus is to provide for our members.

The Summit exists solely to provide needed services to our members and help members stay financially healthy. That’s why we offer so much financial education, often charge fewer and less expensive fees than banks charge, and try to offer the very lowest rates on products like loans and credit cards. Our focus is you.

We partner with our members, and our community.

Giving back is part of our culture.

We believe that a large part of providing for our members is to support the communities in which they live and work. Investing in the community is an investment in you, and we are proud to give back to local organizations and events that strengthen our community. This culture of giving even extends to The Summit’s employees. In 2017, our employees (approximately 240) contributed over 7,200 hours volunteering: an incredible number!

We invest in the latest services.

The Summit is committed to providing the latest technology geared toward the way our members use financial services today. Our Online Banking, Mobile Banking and advanced ATMs give our members 24/7 secure access to their accounts. We are constantly upgrading our facilities to be safe, convenient and hassle-free.

We are local, but are part of a nationwide network.

The Summit serves members in Western and Central New York State. Yet, we’re part of CO-OP Shared Branching, a network of 3,500 credit unions that gives members nationwide access to over 5,000 shared branches.

We listen to you.

Member feedback has spurred us to make many of our most recent upgrades and new products. We built a branch in Camillus because our members wanted one there, and we included into the facility those technological enhancements members told us are important. Members wanted credit cards with robust rewards and benefits, so we created our new Signature and Platinum Visa Credit Cards with Rewards. And our new Taft Road and Cortland branches were built specifically to accommodate the features that members asked for, such as drive-through and ATM lanes, more private meeting spaces and convenient locations.

We make things easy.

Joining us is easy. We only require a $5.00 deposit to become a member of The Summit and start taking advantage of all that we offer. Learn more about The Summit’s membership benefits.

Partner Site Disclaimer

By accessing this link you will be leaving The Summit Federal Credit Union’s website and entering a website hosted by a third party vendor. The Summit has contracted with this third party vendor to provide you with certain services. We encourage you to read and evaluate the privacy and security policies of the site you are entering, which may be different than those of The Summit. If you choose to conduct business here, you will be conducting business with the third party vendor’s website.

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Third Party Site Disclaimer

By accessing this link you will be leaving The Summit Federal Credit Union’s website and entering a website hosted by another party. The Summit is not responsible for its products, services, or overall website content. We encourage you to read and evaluate the privacy and security policies of the site you are entering, which may be different than those of The Summit. If you choose to conduct business here, you will be conducting business with another party’s website.